Panorama Tools (software)
Encyclopedia
Panorama Tools are a suite of programs and libraries originally written by the German physics
and mathematics
professor Helmut Dersch. Panorama Tools provides a powerful framework for re-projecting and blending multiple source images into immersive panoramics
of many types. An updated version of the Panorama Tools library serves as the underlying core engine for many software panorama GUI front-ends
.
by the company IPIX
. Dersch released the core library (pano12) and some of the programs of Panorama Tools (most notably PToptimizer) under the terms of the GNU General Public License
. The rest of the applications were made available as binary
executables only and for free without a proper license.
The development of the source code of Panorama Tools was continued by some members of the original Panorama Tools mailing list. In December 2003 they initiated a free software
project which is currently hosted by SourceForge
. SourceForge requires that all hosted software is released under an open source
license. For this reason Dersch's unlicensed binaries are not hosted there, although they can can still be found on mirror websites.
On 5 August, 2007, Dersch announced his intention to relicense the Panorama Tools source code. On 9 August, 2007, Dersch changed the license to a GNU Lesser General Public License
.
PTEditor: Java
interactive panorama editor.
PTPicker: Java front end to panorama stitcher and other tools. It provides a graphical interface for feature point selection and position optimization.
PTCrypt: Java tool for scrambling pictures intended to be viewed on-line with PTViewer.
PTStitcher: Panorama stitching tool which remaps, adjusts and combines arbitrary images to panoramic views.
PTOptimizer†: Optimizes positions and sizes of images using control-point data.
PTStereo: Creates 3-dimensional objects from 2 or more stereoscopic images.
PTInterpolate: Physically valid true view interpolator. Given two images of the same scene taken from different positions, this tool creates views from any intermediate position.
PTMorpher: Morphing
tool.
PTAverage: Averages images to reduce noise and enhance density.
PTStripe: Combines images into movie-stripes for viewing in object-viewers (PTMovie extension to PTViewer).
PanoTools Plugins:Photoshop, GraphicConverter
and GIMP
plug-ins for image correction and remapping. Also compatible to many other programs that can use Photoshop plug-ins.
pano12 library†: The underlying panorama library, currently used by several different panorama front-ends and command line programs.
pano13 library†: Current version of the library. No longer compatible with programs for which no source code is available.
†Open source.
PTmender†: Remaps one image at a time
PTblender†: Implements the rudimentary colour correction algorithm found in later versions of PTstitcher
PTmasker†: Computes stitching masks. It implements the ability to increase depth-of-field by stacking images
PTroller†: Takes a set of images and merges them into a single one
PTcrop†: Crops an image to its outer rectangle.
PTuncrop†: Opposite of PTcrop: takes a cropped file and creates an uncropped one.
PTtiff2psd†: Takes a series of input images and creates a Photoshop PSD file where each input file is a layer.
†Open source.
) and commercial (e.g. PTgui
and PTMac), along with a variety of other companion applications (e.g. smartblend and enblend), which in many cases make interacting directly with the programs in the original Panorama Tools toolset unnecessary.
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
professor Helmut Dersch. Panorama Tools provides a powerful framework for re-projecting and blending multiple source images into immersive panoramics
Panorama
A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model....
of many types. An updated version of the Panorama Tools library serves as the underlying core engine for many software panorama GUI front-ends
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
.
History
Dersch started development on Panorama Tools in 1998, producing software available for creating panoramas and more, but had to stop development in 2001 due to legal harassment and claims of patent infringementPatent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...
by the company IPIX
IPIX
IPIX was an imaging technology company headquartered in Reston, Virginia. One of its products was visual technology allowing the stitching of panoramic images into 360°x 180° field of view video and photography. The company's stock was traded on NASDAQ .Their .ipx format was for a time a widely...
. Dersch released the core library (pano12) and some of the programs of Panorama Tools (most notably PToptimizer) under the terms of the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
. The rest of the applications were made available as binary
Binary file
A binary file is a computer file which may contain any type of data, encoded in binary form for computer storage and processing purposes; for example, computer document files containing formatted text...
executables only and for free without a proper license.
The development of the source code of Panorama Tools was continued by some members of the original Panorama Tools mailing list. In December 2003 they initiated a free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
project which is currently hosted by SourceForge
SourceForge
SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
. SourceForge requires that all hosted software is released under an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
license. For this reason Dersch's unlicensed binaries are not hosted there, although they can can still be found on mirror websites.
On 5 August, 2007, Dersch announced his intention to relicense the Panorama Tools source code. On 9 August, 2007, Dersch changed the license to a GNU Lesser General Public License
GNU Lesser General Public License
The GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation . It was designed as a compromise between the strong-copyleft GNU General Public License or GPL and permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License...
.
Sub-components
Original release
PanoTools consists of the following components:PTEditor: Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
interactive panorama editor.
PTPicker: Java front end to panorama stitcher and other tools. It provides a graphical interface for feature point selection and position optimization.
PTCrypt: Java tool for scrambling pictures intended to be viewed on-line with PTViewer.
PTStitcher: Panorama stitching tool which remaps, adjusts and combines arbitrary images to panoramic views.
PTOptimizer†: Optimizes positions and sizes of images using control-point data.
PTStereo: Creates 3-dimensional objects from 2 or more stereoscopic images.
PTInterpolate: Physically valid true view interpolator. Given two images of the same scene taken from different positions, this tool creates views from any intermediate position.
PTMorpher: Morphing
Morphing
Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image into another through a seamless transition. Most often it is used to depict one person turning into another through technological means or as part of a fantasy or surreal sequence. Traditionally such a depiction...
tool.
PTAverage: Averages images to reduce noise and enhance density.
PTStripe: Combines images into movie-stripes for viewing in object-viewers (PTMovie extension to PTViewer).
PanoTools Plugins:Photoshop, GraphicConverter
GraphicConverter
GraphicConverter is computer software that displays and edits computer graphics files. It also converts files between different formats. For example, one can convert a GIF file to a JPEG file....
and GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...
plug-ins for image correction and remapping. Also compatible to many other programs that can use Photoshop plug-ins.
pano12 library†: The underlying panorama library, currently used by several different panorama front-ends and command line programs.
pano13 library†: Current version of the library. No longer compatible with programs for which no source code is available.
†Open source.
Further developments
In 2006 the functionality of PTstitcher was reproduced by the developers of Panorama Tools. Its functionality was broken into several program, in an attempt to modularize it:PTmender†: Remaps one image at a time
PTblender†: Implements the rudimentary colour correction algorithm found in later versions of PTstitcher
PTmasker†: Computes stitching masks. It implements the ability to increase depth-of-field by stacking images
PTroller†: Takes a set of images and merges them into a single one
PTcrop†: Crops an image to its outer rectangle.
PTuncrop†: Opposite of PTcrop: takes a cropped file and creates an uncropped one.
PTtiff2psd†: Takes a series of input images and creates a Photoshop PSD file where each input file is a layer.
†Open source.
Front-ends and applications
To make working with Panorama Tools easier and to add functionality, many interactive, graphical front-ends to Panorama Tools have been developed, both open source (e.g. huginHugin (software)
Hugin is a cross-platform open source panorama photo stitching and HDR merging program developed by Pablo d'Angelo and others. It is a GUI front-end for Helmut Dersch's Panorama Tools and Andrew Mihal's Enblend and Enfuse...
) and commercial (e.g. PTgui
PTgui
PTgui is a commercial panorama photo stitching program for Windows and Mac OS X developed by New House Internet Services BV. PTgui was initially created as a GUI frontend to Helmut Dersch's Panorama Tools. It currently features its own stitching and blending engine along with compatibility to...
and PTMac), along with a variety of other companion applications (e.g. smartblend and enblend), which in many cases make interacting directly with the programs in the original Panorama Tools toolset unnecessary.
Further reading
The software Panorama Tools is mentioned and covered in several books, e.g.- Jacobs, Corinna - Interactive Panoramas: Techniques for Digital Panoramic Photography ISBN 3-540-21140-3
- Andrews, Philip - 360 Degree Imaging: The Photographer's Panoramic Virtual Reality Manual ISBN 2-88046-732-2
- Gulbins, Jürgen & Steinmüller, Uwe - Art of RAW Conversion: How to Produce Art-Quality Photos with Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Leading RAW Converters ISBN 1-59327-067-4
External links
- Panorama Tools SourceForge project page
- Helmut Dersch author's site.
- PanoTools.org primary community page recommended by the SourceForge project